Can Anyone Fix Grand Army Plaza? A New Group Thinks So
Plus: a revolting plant blooms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and a peek inside the new Canyon Coffee shop.
Hi neighbors! Hope you are enjoying this springtime weather borrowed from the future. It’s the kind of weather that makes me long for slower periods in my life—maternity leave, a brief spell of unemployment—when I had unhurried time to wander the neighborhood.
In this issue, a weird smelly plant blooms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a peek inside the new Canyon Coffee, a new skate park design gets unveiled and a famous Danish chef pops up in Crown Heights.
A new group is calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to finally fix Grand Army Plaza, one of the city’s most chaotic traffic circles.
The problem, advocates say, is that the plaza was never meant to function as a traffic circle in the first place. Designed in the late 19th century to be a grand entrance to Prospect Park, it was eventually overtaken by automobiles—and became so dangerous that in 1927, the city installed a "Death-o-Meter" to tally traffic injuries and fatalities.
Nearly a century later, the intersection still unnerves pedestrians and drivers. Five major streets—Prospect Park West, Eastern Parkway, Vanderbilt Avenue, Union Street and Flatbush Avenue—all converge around its landmark arch. The result is a terrifying swirl of overlapping lanes, confusing pedestrian crossings and drivers unsure of who actually has the right of way.
The Department of Transportation has been working on a redesign plan for years, aimed at simplifying traffic patterns and restoring the plaza’s role as a gateway to the park. But despite multiple rounds of proposals and community discussions, construction has yet to begin.
Now the advocacy group Safer Grand Army Plaza is urging Mamdani to finally move plans forward.
“A reworking of the traffic circle will make it easier to cross, expand park space by extending the park to the arch, where it can finally return to being the grand entryway to the park. And the plan will make car traffic better, as it will cut down on pedestrian-car interactions, including removing 4 traffic lights, ending stop-start traffic,” one of the group’s members, Steve Flack, tells the Gazette.
Neighborhood Notes
Weird plant season is upon us at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The corpse flower’s cousin, the Amorphopallus konjac plant, was in bloom over the weekend, treating visitors to a smell that gardener Chris Sprindis described as “distinctly dead animal, with an undertone of musty basement.” While its smell has faded, there are two more of the alien-looking plants waiting to bloom.
Pray for the security guard who spent the day posted next to it before she caught the subway home and sat next to fellow commuters.
Bearded Lady is taking a cue from fake spring and launching its seasonal menu. Head over for root beer amaro floats and rhubarb rum crushers.
A slimmer skate park has been proposed for Mount Prospect Park after neighbors balked at the original design. Critics say the so-called skate garden would eat into precious green space, while supporters counter that most of the park would remain untouched—and that nearby Prospect Park and Brooklyn Botanic Garden offer plenty of lawn.
Credit: The Skatepark Project Got a neighbor who lets their dog do their business and keeps it moving? Brooklyn Community Board 9, which covers Crown Heights South, wants your help cracking down on them. Fill out a form, and they'll send an enforcement agent to stake out the scene.
Canyon Coffee’s co-founder Ally Walsh gave a peek inside the new space on Vanderbilt and Bergen.
Farm.One’s owner Derek Pitts wrote on Substack about why he left Wall Street to start a small hydroponic vertical farm.
Danish chef Bo Bech, whose Copenhagen restaurant was once described as the “most interesting place in Europe to eat,” is popping up at Café Mado for one night only on March 25. You can book reservations on Resy.
The founders of Prospect Heights success story Ample Hills are back—this time with a chicken sandwich shop. Ramblin’ Chick opens on Court Street in Carroll Gardens on March 19.
Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope are among the neighborhoods getting a share of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 1,000 new 3-K seats.
Something for everyone: Prospect Heights Butcher Co. is encouraging you to pre-order your St. Patrick’s Day corned beef, Passover briskets and Easter legs of lamb.
Prospect Heights’ Nin Hao scored a shout-out in New York Magazine’s seafood round-up for its Fujianese steamed whole fish.
Caribbean-American burger shop Rogers Burgers is launching a residency at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Sliders are the perfect size for little mouths.
Elementary school PS9’s neighborhood discount card just got an update, now good for savings at Gertie, Alta Calidad, Pho Bar and Wayward Fare.
An affordable housing lottery has opened for a new tower at 1042 Atlantic Avenue in Crown Heights. Rents start at $844/month for a studio.
And the hyperlocal supermarket news that you subscribe for: Lidl is officially joining the neighborhood at 1730 Bedford Avenue—doors open March 18.
Real Estate
Live in the Flatiron-like building at Grand Army Plaza. 47 Plaza Street West, Apt. 4C. Ask? $3.995M
Classifieds
For sale from your neighbors in Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Park Slope. The Gazette doesn’t independently verify sellers or items, so please connect directly and use your best judgment.
Antique Indian cabinet. Antique Theodore Alexander wood chair and tables. Refinished Peter Lovig Nielsen partners desk. 1,000-piece NASA grand tour puzzle. Vintage wood midcentury dining chairs. George Nakashima-inspired dining chairs. Authentic hand knotted Bokhara Jhaldar area rug.
Calling All Neighbors
Our weekly neighbor-powered help desk. Got a rec or a question for next week? Reach out in the comments or at grandarmygazette@gmail.com
Where’s the best place in the neighborhood to work outside with good Wi-Fi?
We asked our neighbors last week where their go-to place to get suede cleaned was. They said:
“Mike's Dry Cleaners & Tailors has helped me!”
The skatepark should go in the parking lot behind the Brooklyn Museum, which is city owned and never supposed to be a parking lot.
Parking should be removed from Grand Army Plaza. We're basically giving free residential parking inside a park, since Grand Amy Plaza is technically a park.
And they should build a pedestrian bridge or land bridge over Flatbush to connect Mount Prospect and Prospect. It was in the original designs 100 years ago. This would shave off 10-15 minutes of walking for young children and seniors to get into Prospect Park and bring more foot traffic into the Veil of Cashmere, which will be a nature playground soon.